The Dark Period
by Being a Genius is a Drag
Summary: Set in Egypt's darkest eras, the country is divided between two powers as famine washes over the land as the people live in constant alertness of attacks. With the North and the South both seriously trying to take control of Egypt, it'll take more than the strength of men to end this war, especially when the ones who'll end it are all tied into an inescapable destiny. HxK more! AU
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, well. . .you get the gist of it.

Warning: Male x Male love. BL. YAOI. SHOUNEN AI. [HxK and **other** pairings]

If you do not like yaoi/shounen ai/BL or any of the kind or even this pairing then first off . . . .  
1\. I've no idea what you're doing here.  
2\. Kindly hit the back button.  
3\. Keep all flaming and negativity to yourself.

The rest, Enjoy!

 **Reader's Discretion Advised.**

A (mainly) Hiei x Kurama AU story brought to you by me. Other pairings are a surprise. (Please don't flame me for what other pairings I put together)

Inspired by The "Dark Period" of Egyptian history. Not everything will be historically accurate so please don't comment saying I got things wrong. Remember, I was only inspired by it. I'll try to keep some historical "facts" but not enough to make things too predictable.

And yes. This will all transpire in Egypt.

Some background on what is going on:  
1\. Egypt just went through a bad famine.  
2\. No one really cares about the Pharaoh.  
3\. Egypt divided between two rising powers: Heracleopolitan (North) and Theban (South)

-

It was midday, the sun shone bright and threatened to set anyone and everyone under it ablaze. It's rays never hesitated to deprive the people from their hydration and anyone sensible enough could feel a chilling stirring in the winds. The sands beneath their feet breezed by in small gusts, the sand dancing in the tiniest of circular motions. A sandstorm was brewing and it would pick up wind very quick.

The luxury of staying indoors on such an ominous day could not be afforded by a certain few individuals. For not only was the sandstorm upon southern Egypt this day, but the smell of sweat, metals of spears and daggers, the sound of clanking shields and most importantly, the dye of the red colored blood painted the Egyptian sands.

A battle, a couple dozen men, two sides, and an ominous wind. In the midst of it, beyond the shrieks of the dying and the grunts of the wounded, beyond the moans of the sore and tired, one man could not feel the weight the sun tried to cast. It's power was far from touching the individual who's world embodied the splatter of blood.

One swing of his dagger, the slit of one man's throat, the stains on his arms and with swiftness he moved to kill and kill more with each strike. He performed flawlessly and effortlessly and outmatched his enemies. A ruby eye glanced towards his fellow soldiers, many of which he saw the look of dread and tiredness in.

They could all see the signs of the sandstorm and even he was not unaware of them. Their eyes would look to him for guidance and for command. But his ruby blood eyes would scowl at their cowardice and cruelly tell them to go on. He'd glare in the face of his enemies and send them to the next world. In a way, they'd be alleviated from the dreads of the sandstorm to come.

The battle would continue, both sides tired and worn out and the sands beneath them would only stir more. Time was running out. Both sides were growing weary and the opposing side would slowly retreat. The great warrior's men looked to him, "They have begun to retreat, the sandstorm is upon us, we must also seek shelter!"

Their pleading eyes struggled to bear against his single glare in attempt to win over. No response from the one they desired to hear from came. "General Hiei, it isn't safe to stay here!" they tried again. He'd cast one last glare, "Maggot fools, stay behind if you want, I've no desire to lead cowards like you."

His silhouette would walk on to follow the few last that composed of the opposing troops. "General Hiei!" His men would call and beckon him to rethink what he was doing. He ignored their pleads and his form disappeared after the remaining few he sought to eliminate.

Worry for their general grew but none ran after him. The signs of the sandstorm grew steadily more apparent and they too retreated back to gain shelter. But they could not simply let their general leave unreported. "You, go back to the capital and alert the lords right away!" the one among them that would be second in command ordered one of the surviving underlings to orally report to their leaders. "Yes! Right away."

-

Meanwhile at the capital city of Thebes, the townsfolk prepared to hoard themselves in their homes as refuge from the sandstorm to come.

"Status report!" a firm voice commanded as a single deep blue eye peered out a window from the third floor of the cities' main military base. Another figure with glossed black hair sat in the middle of the room, his eyes looking attentively to the servant standing at the door of their office.

"Yes my lords," the servant cleared his throat, "All people's have been accounted for and are firmly situated within their homes or are otherwise resorting to other means of shelter for the oncoming sandstorm" the man reported.

The blue eyed lord stood calmly by the window with arms crossed, "Next file." "Ah, yes, this month's harvesting quota has risen above the expectancy ratings, the days of famine among the citizens is slowly decreasing." the man continued to report. The other lord of dark hair rose his voice, "what of the minor uprisings?" he questioned.

To this, the blue eyed lord diverted her attention from the outside to the servant awaiting the response. The servant paused a second before answering upon looking for the file report. "Our Intel report findings of talk of ill suspicion towards my lords, many worry you cannot protect the south from the north's constant invasions."

A second lingered in the air before the black haired lord spoke again, "any reports from our small faction of troops sent to obliterate the forces of the north?" Just as the servant was about to report of none, the soldier sent before ran in, huffing and out of breath. The servant's eyes grew wide from being startled and the lords eyed the stranger clothed in their distinct armor.

"How rude to barge into the headquarters of the lords of Thebes!, kneel and state your name!" the servant demanded. The tired soldier quickly bent down, "my deepest apologies my lords, but i come to report on behalf of general Hiei."

The blue eyed lord's attention piqued, "Can't the general report to us? Why does he send you?" The kneeling soldier shook his head, "General Hiei cannot i'm afraid, in light of the oncoming sandstorm, the enemy initiated a retreat but my general has gone after them alone forsaking our chance to seek shelter for ourselves."

"Oh?" the blue eyed lord questioned not particularly surprised as a tone of minor amusement rose to this piece of news. A few seconds trickled by as the nervous warrior awaited to receive a response from either of his lords. The blue eyed lord stood in silence seemingly thinking to herself as the black haired lord cast his eyes to her with an idea of what was running through her mind.

"My . . .lords?" the warrior spoke out quietly in short bursts not understanding the amused look on the female lords face. With the slight curve of her lips by the corners of her mouth, she cast a minor glance to the warrior. "I see, have the rest of the men seek shelter as well", she ended her sentence. The warrior made a confused expression, "and what of the general?"

"You need not worry of the general, now go", the other lord cut in with a nonchalant tone in his voice as he kept his eyes upon the female lord. "Y-yes my lord!" and with that, despite confusion laced in his reply, the warrior fled back. The black haired lord made a gesture of a wave to the servant who had otherwise been silently watching. The servant caught sight of the gesture and bowed before dismissing himself.

The seconds passed, neither lord meaning to voice out their comments too soon. However, eventually the silence broke, "You place too much interest in that young man Mukuro" the dark haired lord commented addressing her by her given name. The dark orange haired lord turned her gaze from the window to her fellow lord, "and you place too little in him Yomi" she retorted lightly.

Yomi's stare lingered a second no more, "I see" he sighed not wanting to continue the topic of discussion. But Mukuro pressed on, "It seems our people are losing their faith in us." Despite the topic being one of concern, her voice expressed no concern what so ever.

"How ludicrous" the male lord huffed lightly not so amused as his fellow lord. However, here her amusement dwindled as her blue eye turned to cast a sharp look, "It is not." There was no malice, no immediate tension or threat in that strong and powerful gaze but the other lord understood well enough. Though he understood, he did not plan to cater to her thoughts.

"I do not approve" he voiced with a force just as stern as her gaze. Despite the male lords voiced rejection, the blue eyed lord turned her attention back to the window, "it is not your approval that decides this Yomi" she spoke with distance laced in her tone. Her features looked up towards the darkening sky as the signs of the sandstorm were in plain view.

"That man," her voice trailed off, "may be the only one who is able" she stopped, turning her head over her shoulder to peer back to her fellow lord. Dark eyes met her one blue one before he stood composed turning his heel towards that of the doorway. "You know this" her voice added as if on last note and the silhouette of Yomi paused for a brief second, his back still turned to her. ". . .That may be so", his head turned over to face her, "But there is much that he lacks." And with that, Yomi's presence left that of Mukuro's to her own.

-

Chill shrieks drifted along in the fastly billowing winds as the heavy smell of iron and blood cast it's dye on the thin grains of the desert sands. The last beatings of a heart and the last breaths of life had shed it's final caress on those who were unlucky enough to have been pit against him.

He stood amidst the pools of blood, devoid of any particular expression as the drippings of red slid smoothly down the tip of his blade. Dark ruby eyes reflected themselves in the mirror like pool of blood before he turned on his heel, huffing his disappointment for the lack of challenge his foes had provided before heading back from whence he came.

-

News did not take too long to report that the shadow of a man walking boldly along the first harsh stirrings of the sandstorm had been sighted coming into the city of Thebes. The female lord had stretched out a thin amused smile on her lips at the hearing of this news. "So it seems i should reward the good general for his success" she murmured underneath her breath as a blue eye looked distantly out into the dangers of the whipping winds of desert sand.

Her expression looked mildly contemplative as she half-heartedly thought aloud to herself, "What kind of reward shall i grant him? . . He who is never satisfied. . ."The ends of her sentence turned nearly to hums as she voiced her last thought, "That i wonder. . ."

-

Echoes and reverberations of sobs, inchorent babblings and pleads to the gods bounced of the narrow space of a dark room filled with an overcapacity of bodies, all alive but most wishing for death. In this overfilled room of soon to be slaves, there laid but one who did not express any of the despairs the others shared.

In the far corner of the damp and crowded room, gentle yet wild vivid tresses of crimson cascaded over the smooth skin of one's shoulders who did not partake in the needless sobs and pleads of despair. In contrast to the near lifeless eyes of the multitudes, strong and stern emerald green orbs peered to the dark of the walls. The eyes reflected that of a soul who patiently waited, with great determination and assurity, they reflected the eyes of one who would never resign themselves to that of a slave.

[Well that's that. Hope it was a good enough introductory chapter.]  
[Do leave any commentary about the story as it proceeds as i will look to them for any constructive criticism and suggestions!]  
[And yes, Yomi is not blind here.] 


	2. Chapter 2

And here is Chapter Two! Enjoy!

-

The gusts of raging sand that had caught onto the black fabric of the general's cloak trickled down as his form finally walked into the comfort of shelter and away from the dangers of the sandstorm. Receding on the wall with arms folded over her chest just a couple feet away where she had patiently awaited his return was the third lord of Thebes.

With the sands still falling off his form, he walked, keen on ignoring her presence despite her being his commander. Such things meant little if anything to one as such as he. As long as she or the other lord could provide a means to satiate his unending thirst for the heat of battle, then being their general was also not as problematic as it normally would be.

As his silhouette passed hers, a faint but non amused quirk of her lips spread on her face. "Hiei," she called despite knowing her general's attitude well enough to understand he would ignore her without so much as a single shed of hesitation.

His steps ceased, his only indicator that he had stopped to listen to whatever nonsense, as he called it, the female lord would utter to him now. This man did not like to be instigated so she had no plan to scold him for his unauthorized bold actions of abandoning his comrades. The lord understood well enough he saw no one as a comrade, for no one seemed to ever be able to reach that level of respect in those ruby colored eyes.

The seconds lingered in the air and Hiei cocked his head slightly over his shoulder, showing his growing agitation at her continued silence. Already in a foul mood from his men's cowardice and filled with disappointment from the lack of challenge his foes provided, his patience was wearing thin that day, so he had no intention of lingering to hear out her nonsense.

Just as he thought this and moved his feet to continue on, her voice finally left her throat, "Off to relieve yourself from the stains of sullied blood?" It wasn't a question but an inquiry of what she knew he always did after a day's work of battle.

As if judging her comment to be of no worth for a response, his steps echoed as they left farther and farther from her. She closed her one blue eye, knowing this would be his reaction. Her brows shifted again to one of contemplation, "What to get this ill mannered general of mine. . .?"

-

Retreating to his room located beneath the compound known as the Theban headquarters, Hiei brushed away the stark white cloth fabric that served as his door to walk into a small dark and enclosed space filled with darkness. He breathed in, welcoming the scent of the dark familiar space. He moved diligently to remove the cloak and armor, letting it pile noisily to the floor. He placed his one true companion, a unique blade known as a sword, against the dark walls of his room. It was known that warriors fought with bows and arrows or spears throughout Egypt, but his soul seemed intent on being bound to that one blade that now rested against the wall by his bed stand.

Article by article, he removed clothing from his skin until he stood bare, as natural as he had been the day he came into this forsaken world. To one corner of the room, a water basin and small stool awaited him. He approached and sat, taking hold of the basin and commencing to begin his bathing. The cool water struck against his flushed and rough skin as it smoothed down his well defined compact muscles before trickling to the ground in fluid motions.

He continued this without effort as his mind wandered slowly, etching itself away to the dark recesses of his subconsciousness. His ears lost it's attentiveness to the howling sounds of the gushing winds that could otherwise easily be detected through the thin matter of the walls surrounding him.

For one as such as he, the star general of Thebes, it could easily be noted that his living conditions were not up to par with his status. But such conditions were willingly chosen despite that he had been offered a more luxurious room in the compound that would easily accommodate to someone of his worth.

In times of famine and slow economic prosperity, luxury was hard to obtain and those who had it were despised by the lower citizens for being lucky enough to have it. But he did not refuse the luxury out of good will of the people he "served". No, he did not do it to be a role model of what a good leader should do in hard times. Rather, this room, in it's solitary charm, was chosen merely because it allowed him to be isolated. Because in this world of his, there were only himself and them.

"Them" being everyone else, those that equated to being of no importance and save for one other person, no one and nothing else mattered in his eyes. Long since finished with the bathing process, Hiei stood, the lingering droplets of water running down the contours of his cooled flesh and toned muscles as he tread towards the roughly woven strings of palm leaf and rawhide for a bed that he had.

He laid there, uncaring for the need to dry his wet bare body. His damp messy black hair soaked into the rawhide uncomfortably but he closed his eyes non the less and draped a worn out cotton piece of cloth over himself as he let his mind sink into a much needed period of rest.

-

The day passed when the ending of the sandstorm finally met it's end. It was a violent storm, one that had left the city of Thebes in a poor and sad state once the calm had descended upon the land. Those holed in had peered out the next day to be welcomed with the tragedy of months worth of hard work in crops and vegetation ruined within the measly whims of nature itself.

It did not take long for the people to despair and panic over the obviousness the shortage of food supply would entail for their future. As it would, the lords met that morning after receiving many reports of damaged crop fields.

"What an unnecessary setback" Yomi exhaled sitting with a minor headache forming due to reviewing countless numbers of reports. Mukuro stood, reading over a few reports herself before running a calm hand over her mane of orange colored hair. Hiei stood leaning back on the wall of the room with an unsatisfied look on his face from having been summoned early that morning only to have been staying there motionless in that room in quietness.

Not a single order or word had been uttered to him and he was growing horridly agitated to have been summoned only to hear about the petty people's problems to which he had no care for. As if on cue with his thoughts, Yomi raised his eyes to peer over to the non expressive general. "Ah, yes, Hiei" Yomi said under his breath as if barely realizing his presence in the room which minorly offset Hiei.

To a small degree, it surprised Hiei that it was Yomi who was instigating the conversation between them which signaled that his summon had been called by Yomi and not Mukuro. Hiei raised a brow as if telling Yomi to continue before he lost interest and stopped listening to either of them.

"Head west to the chieftain's home, there are minor reports of uprisings that the misfortunate are aiming to take the remaining crops from his land. He will pay a handsome fee for the uprising to be put to a halt. Deal with that will you." It wasn't a sincere question but an order that Hiei really had no interest in complying with.

As if to reply defiantly, Hiei merely stood straight before turning, his worn out cloak swishing in the process, as he headed for the door. "I've come to the understanding that a certain blue haired maiden will participate in salvaging the field's crops of a neighboring farmer's estate as part of her temple duties," Yomi paused, informing Hiei in a straightforward and nonchalant tone. "It was to my assumption you that her safety was something that mattered to you, you wouldn't want her to be unnecessarily caught between the crossfires, would you?"

Ruby red eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a small frame paced out the room swiftly with the sound of a tongue clicking in dissatisfaction echoing behind. A blue sharp eye watched his form disappear before directing it's intensity towards her fellow lord. "That was sly Yomi" she said unamused.

Yomi didn't faze as he leisurely continued to scan his eyes over the papers, "she's not there" he said under his breath in a relaxed manner. It took a few seconds for Mukuro to understand what Yomi had meant, but as the meaning clicked in her mind, her expression contorted to one of mild disappointment.

"I didn't take you for the kind of man to resort to extreme lies to get his subordinates to comply with his orders," her gaze was accusing but she quickly sighed as her form reclined in her seat. "He's not going to be very pleased once he returns, i wouldn't even be surprised if he tried to kill you for it" she uttered the words as if the statement itself was slightly humorous.

"Don't get me wrong Mukuro, what i did was in poor taste and it was not my intention to mock Hiei," Yomi explained slowly, his eyes never leaving the page he was reading. Mukuro's attention was piqued as her blue eye stared straight at him, "Oh?," her brow rose, "then why send him for something any other of our men could handle?" This was a question that had been circling in her mind since the moment Yomi had summoned the general.

"It is not as trivial of a matter as you think" he answered finally lifting his gaze to meet hers. Mukuro's eye blinked, signaling that she failed to understand immediately but she soon understood and narrowed her eye, "Why does the cheiftain's home matter?" she questioned.

The corners of Yomi's lips quirked slightly to her inquiry , "it's not so much as his home that i'm concerned with but rather it's someone inside it." Mukuro paused for a bit before exhaling as if her mind was tired out, "I see," she muttered. "It's hard enough to get inside that fat pig's home as it is, so you're using this opportunity to send Hiei in, disguising the matter as a means to calm the uprising, and since this likely deals with a Heracleopolitan spy, you trust in Hiei's abilities to unmask the spy while he's there, am i right?" she summarized unsurprised for the reason.

Yomi's lips took on a small satisfied smile, "as you say, it is something only Hiei can do with the short amount of time we'll have to see it through." Hearing this, Mukuro couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "yes," she exhaled, "that man's very perceptive of his surroundings, sometimes it's as if he has a third eye, one that watches everything as he focuses on one view at a time" she jibed lightly.

"But that's part of what makes him such an admirable warrior," Yomi added, "in battle, i can only imagine it's very hard to kill that man, he must be a terror in the field aside that his personality leaves much to be desired." A small silence was left in the air as Mukuro blankly gaped at her fellow lord, "That's not a department you should speak in Yomi" she said bluntly but Yomi responded with a small chuckle of amusement.

"Well enough of that," Yomi calmed his smile and returned his eyes to the stack of reports, "there is work to do, we'll just have to wait for the results." Mukuro sighed as she returned to the reports as well, "expect the report to come with a blade pointed at the ball of your throat" she said as if the statement was of light matter. Yomi huffed amused however, "I don't doubt it."

-

[Sorry, no Kurama in this chapter, but as a spoiler, i promise he'll be in the third chapter!]  
[And no, Hiei doesn't have a third eye or any supernatural abilities, i just wanted to make a small joke about it. . . . i couldn't help myself. And i can't help but see both Mukuro and Yomi as being people of slightly morbid humor, so i had fun with that.]  
[With that, see you all next chapter!]


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for a delayed update, I've been terribly sick with the flu and I have Finals this week so I will be terribly busy. However, after this week comes to pass, I'll be having a month break off from school so I can be able to update more regularly. Two chapters as an apology for you guys. Enjoy!

-

An eerie creak resonated around the room resulting in minor jumps and gasps from the cramped room's inhabitants. Eyes whipped towards the door as the strings of light blasted into the room creating the illusion that they were being let out. Well they were being let out but not for reasons that could only be dreamed about.

Even so, strong emerald green eyes studied the awe in some of the slaves eyes. It was irrational really, the way their eyes gleamed for something that came and fled as quickly as a gust of wind. How they could disillusion themselves so easily, how they could let their minds break so easily, he did not understand. But maybe that was because he hadn't been there as long as they had.

Perhaps if he stayed confined to these drab and dull walls as long as some of them have, he could come to understand the way single waves of light played wondrous tricks on the mind. He exhaled through dried lips, for he had no intention of one day finding out such things. Life was more than chains and false light.

"Get up!" a hoarse and deep voice broke many out of their trances as a strongly built slave driver pulled some to their feet. Without needing to be needlessly forced, the crimson haired man stood on his two feet as most of the slaves began to form single file lines as they always did on days with routines such as this.

He ran a hand through his tangled bloody red tresses, frowning when his fingertips felt the knots in his long hair. Sighing, he let his discomfort pass, there was not much he could do for his bodily state and lack of hygiene as of now.

"Get a move on!" the same hoarse voice rang out making some quicken their paces as they were led out only to be shoved onto caged carriages once their wrists were bound. Taking his seat swiftly before there was no room left, his eyes drifted over to the busy streets of the outside world. He was not oblivious of the obvious sandstorm that had swept over their lands recently, so seeing the people act frenzied and in panicked manners was of no surprise to him.

A slight jolt moved the carriage and he knew they were finally on the move. To rich persons estates or wealthy individuals who were in need of slaves for either laborious work or secret nightly desires. That was what all slaves headed to, and even though the redhead had been to several estates, he sincerely hoped no one would take interest in him. Or rather, that no one of minor importance did. Staying locked up in a dingy room to be welcomed seldomly by false light was not something he had in his future plans after all.

-

Crimson ruby eyes scanned from left to right repeatedly as he openly scowled muttering under his breath the many torturous ways he'd like to hurt Yomi. His eyes searched for vibrant soft greenish blue locks only to find neither her nor anyone from the temple for that matter. He uttered a low growl, angry that Yomi dared to use such a blatant lie and even more angry that he had fallen for it.

Finally calming his nerves, he sighed for at the very least this piece of news meant that he did not have to worry excessively over the safety of probably the only person that may ever matter to him. His eyes thereafter scanned the scene, taking in the state the uprising was in. Many low class citizens stood outside the Chieftain's house, many yelling their discontent at how greedily the chieftain hoarded the food supply.

While a small part of him partially agreed with their reasons for dissatisfaction, most of his feelings towards the situation sympathized with no one. The poor were poor, they would struggle unless they had the individualistic capacity to rank higher than what they were. Such was their fate. The wealthy would revel in their material possessions until that led them to their eventual downfall. Such was their fate as well.

In the end, their fates were nothing to be fought over but he knew the feeble minds of the multitudes would never be able to grasp such a simple truth. For in reality, for the world they lived in, there was nothing like true power. Power. If he had any goals, it'd be to become more powerful than he was. Because only power accomplished anything.

Power could change history, power held the lives of many in it's sovereignty, what people did or how they lived-only power could determine such things. Even in battle, it came down to the individual that was more powerful than the opponent. So, really, all one could do in these times was seek power, and he was no exception.

Spotting his underling men posted at a certain entrance leading towards the back entrance of the estate, Hiei made powerful strides to them. He'd at least decide whether or not this minor and easily settled uprising was worth the trouble of his presence being sent over to do such a miniscule task.

He was no 'genius', but even he knew there was more to the task if Yomi had bothered to get him to personally come in the first place. Remembering the dark haired lord, Hiei scowled in his mind but quickly set aside those thoughts. The time to confront Yomi would come soon so there was no reason to let his anger get the best of him. . . well not yet anyways.

Several of the posted guards caught view of the great general and immediately tensed, bowing to his presence in respect to the lord's private general. Hiei ignored their unwanted pays of respect and ordered them to rise, demanding for the presence of the Chieftain. The nervous guards stuttered, pointing the intimidating general in.

With a minor roll of his eyes as a sign of annoyance, he strutted inside the estate where more guards stood by. Except these guards were not Yomi or Mukuro's men, but the privately hired sector he concluded the overly worried greedy Chieftain had paid for. Having come in, he firstly noted how one of those privately hired men rushed off in an unknown direction away from his initial post. The second thing Hiei noted was how quickly that same guard had come back and how the Chieftain's presence had slowly followed showing an expression of not the utmost joy.

Well the general knew he never exactly aspired the most happiest of reactions from others, but the particular look the Chieftain wore left a bad taste in the general's mouth. It was almost the look of a child who knew they were doing something wrong but still trying to get away with it. And for a reason he couldn't quite understand, Hiei felt that the Chieftain was not feeling weary about hoarding the food supply but rather for something else.

Huffing, the general strode to the Chieftain as the other approached him with a somewhat nervous sweatdrop visibly showing on the bald head. "Ah, General, i was not expecting the lords to be sending someone as important as you for my trivial problem" the Chieftain said, the nervousness apparent in his higher pitched voice. Hiei readied himself to tolerate whatever gibberish that the other would spout out in favor of deciding if this "mission" would be well worth his stay.

-

Firstly, he picked up on growing distant noises as they neared their destination. Then his eyes caught sight of bystanders on the sides of the roads who were whispering amonsgt themselves, their eyes looking in a certain direction. Their faces showed signs of caution and possible promises of future incidents to come. Gazing in their direction, he came to conclude that wherever they were going would either be leading them into the heart of the cause or fortunately close to it.

It was fortunate for a reason for it was not everyday that conflict broke out in the inner city of Thebes. Though conflict usually spelled disaster to most, it was usually in the midst of such conflict that people with likewise statuses as he could attempt escape. His keen eyes noted the way the slave drivers around them tensed in movements and the way the fellow slaves rustled around in the carriage.

Most peered over to the obvious commotion in question but the redhead saw the threads of determination woven into a few other's eyes. He stilled a small quirk of his lips from forming, mainly to appear as disinterested as the rest. Innerly, to himself, it felt quite relieving to learn that there still remained a few who had retained their wills to escape.

Time seemed to flow quickly as the redhead could now clearly hear the sounds of protests and the content of the reason the protests were happening.

"Give the people food!"

"You greedy vermin, not all of that is for you!"

"Give us some now!"

A variety of yells echoed about, some more peaceful and some more violent than others. Green eyes noted the few amongst the crowd who beared balled fists and agitated expressions. Those people were close, on the brink of breaking, or so the redhead found himself making an analysis of. As if on cue, angered shouts reverberated from the crowd and some citizens rushed to the closed gate, launching themselves violently against it.

Engulfed in the power of their anger, others joined in, the simple protest turning rapidly aggressive. The guards posted around immediately jumped in to try and calm the citizen's from their uprising. But it seemed as though the people have had enough as more and more rushed in, the situation quickly turning into a mess before the redhead's eyes.

The slave drivers along the carriage tensed greatly and made haste towards another entrance where other guards stood firmly with worried expressions from the riot breaking out near them.

These men wore Theban armor unlike the other guards who had jumped in earlier to calm the rioting. The slave drivers quickly showed their licenses to the guards posted there. "The Chieftain is expecting us." They quickly muttered, it obvious that they wanted to get their job over with quicker.

Since slavery was no illegal matter, the guards did not show any distaste for the slave driver's job nor any sympathy for the slaves in the carriage. They merely confirmed the licenses before making way for them to pass through while keeping an eye on the riot. They ushered them all in to make haste hoping none of the civilians would catch on to another entrance.

But that was in vain as the yells of the citizens fastly alerted the rest of a new found entrance with only guards to protect it. Emerald green eyes tried to follow the turn of events but the carriage he rode on disappeared further into the estate and away from the chaos.

-

Ruby colored eyes desperately wanted to roll to the back of their sockets as he listened to the nervous Chieftain speak of how the situation could be controlled by the men he hired. He obviously wanted for the Theban guards to pull out and in particular, for the general to take his leave.

Agitated enough and annoyed with the blabbering bald fat man, Hiei cut him off with a sharp tone, "Was it not you whom requested for Theban guards?" His piercing stare had the Chieftain in front of him sweat dripping. "That was-" he muttered lowly under his breath until another voice intervened.

"Chieftain!, the slave drivers you called for have arrived"

"Oh!," the Chieftain turned around, using that as an excuse to alleviate himself from the general's piercing stare. "My apologies General, but it seems as if my presence is in need elsewhere now so. . ." the voice spoke in haste and trailed off. The unamused look in Hiei's glare sent the rambling man taking soft step back in effort to end their conversation.

Holding distaste for the waste of human breath before him, Hiei's fingers did not even ache with the want to spill blood. Sure, the man tugged at his strings enough for him to cut, but found himself without the will to do so. Such a death was too good and too favorable to the Chieftain for Hiei to bother sullying his blade with.

Of course, he thought this without taking into contemplation the problem it'd bring his status and to those he served. Shifting in his stance, Hiei opened his mouth to call back the annoying man but a loud crashing noise cut his attention off.

The Chieftain at that moment whipped his head in the direction of the noise as many voices gradually became closer to where they currently stood. "What is going on?" the Chieftain shrieked to his hired guards.

At that moment, one of those hired men came running from their post, "It's the people!," he shouted, "they have broken in, they made it in, they found the back entrance!" The Chieftain's eyes bulged as he let out a cowardly yelp, the sweat more noticeable now. "They've come to take my riches!" he exclaimed in worry before shifting his worried look to Hiei.

"You're here to stop all of this aren't you?" he raised his voice, "go, stop those vermin from stealing my possessions!" The irritation grew in the general, not liking to be ordered around. "I do believe you requested for the Theban guards to back out," the gaze in the ruby colored eyes was cold and the Chieftain visibly shivered in light of them. "Deal with it on your own."

Saying no more, the general decided he had wasted enough of his time and turned heel to leave the flustered Chieftain to his trivial problems.

-

[Look forward to Hiei and Kurama's meeting in the next chapter!]


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, the chapter where they meet is this one. Sorry for making you all wait so long to read it. I know you guys have been waiting for it but I had to write enough detail to lead up to it, so do forgive me. Enjoy!

-

Just as the slave drivers thought they could relax, not too long after, the sounds of an angry mob flooded closer from the entrance they had just come through. Shouts and yells for raiding or breaking anything found soon echoed towards them. Those in the caged carriages rustled around, some in confusion, others in anticipation.

Even the beautiful redhead could not deny the rising in his heart as the anticipation ran throughout his veins in wait. His eyes followed all the movements as soon as the mob was in sight. The slave drivers tensed immediately and those who had waited wasted no time to jump at the opportunity.

"Release us!"

"Help us out!"

The slave driver's turned and shoved their arms out to the shouting slaves, demanding that they stayed silent. But as they said this, the yells and beckons for help had reached some of those in the mob and a crowd jumped at the slave drivers for the mere intention to cause trouble.

The redhead had no doubt that the people had lost sight of their true objective but had no problems with it seeing as it that anger that was now setting them free. His eyes watched as the mass of people lashed their anger against the slave drivers and guards from before. It quickly became a messy brawl and sand was being kicked up everywhere, clouding his vision.

The sound of keys echoed and the creaking noise of a cage being opened resounded in his ears as those around him shouted out their freedom. He wasted no time either, quickly scurrying himself out from the confines of the carriage before any of the slave drivers had the chance to reseal it.

Landing and feeling his feet reach the sandy ground, he caught sight of a fist flying at him making his eyes bulge wide lightly before evading the attack. Noticing that it had come from a person from the mob that just set them free, he inferred that the mob was no longer invading the estate out of purpose and were merely lashing out their frustrations in random.

Deducing that staying in the center of the violence was not safe nor ideal, he swept past the brawls and unmindfully ran in a random direction. As long as it lead him away from the commotion, it didn't matter which he way he ran in. He didn't doubt that soon more support from the guards would show up and ultimately end the uprising, so he had to take the chance to flee while he had it.

But at that moment a voice shouted at him to halt and he peered over his shoulder to see that one of the slave drivers was rushing towards him. He nearly grit his teeth but took into account that only one of them was following him so he stopped his running, skidding his feet against the harsh sand before turning to rapidly run towards the slave driver.

The slave driver wore an obviously confused expression, never having expected for the redhead to really turn around and run in his direction. But at the speed the green eyed escapee ran with, he noticed too late what the other was aiming to do. The redhead launched himself forwards into the air, raising his leg to land a harsh kick to the man's temple knocking the other straight down to the side.

Landing with a thud, the redhead concluded that it was his crimson locks that had made him too noticeable and would hinder his escape. He peered down to his hands seeing that they were bound in rope and noticed the glinting of a knife on the ground near the slave driver. Concluding that the other must have dropped it before losing consciousness, he quickly bent down and grabbed the knife between his palms and cut the rope, setting his wrists free. Looking down to the knocked out man and took the cloak the other had worn before draping it over his shoulders and pulling the hood over his head and breaking into another run before he attracted anymore unwanted attention.

-

Making his way around to avoid the nuisance of the brawlings, the general walked with crossed arms with an annoyed expression. For not only was he mocked and tricked by Yomi but that he had wasted his breath on the Chieftain and had not spotted any signs of a spy lurking about. He was sure that Yomi had sent him specifically for that reason, yet as sharp as he kept his eye, nothing seemed out of place aside from the uprising.

He was even mildly surprised that he was sticking around in hopes of locating an enemy spy. Perhaps his dissatisfaction with the fight the day before was stronger than he previously thought as it seemed that he was naturally seeking out stronger prey.

As he was thinking this, his ears caught the sound of another's voice shouting in a high pitched voice and he peered his red eyes over to the building it was coming from. He focused for a second and recognized it as the Chieftain's voice yelling to another in worry. However it was a sort of cautionary worry.

Narrowing his eyes, Hiei trodded over in light footsteps closer to hear better and soon caught the whispered words of another in the room.

"This is everything?" a smoother voice spoke.

"Yes!, now hurry and get out of here, the Theban lords have sent their troublesome General here, he could be anywhere, so leave already!" the Chieftain sounded cautious and alert.

"Our lord will be most pleased with this," the sound a coins shuffling about echoed, "Your reward."

"Yes, yes!, now go, the mobs outside should be keeping most of the guards busy for now, so just leave now!"

Listening to the conversation, Hiei stood outside with his back to the wall and arms crossed as a grin fought it's way onto his face. As if to mock their failure at discreteness, Hiei softly knocked with his fists at the wall behind him to alert them that his presence was there. He heard the sounds of a gasp and another clicking his tongue in frustration.

Right then, the spy rushed out the window from the die of another wall and ran at great speed and Hiei wasted no time to rush off after the cloaked figure. He kept keen eyes on the figure who desperately tried to shake the general off by taking sharp turns at every corner he could. Hiei narrowed his eyes, noting that the spy was being quite the evasive one. Clicking his tongue in slight irritation, he sped up his movements as the other took another sharp turn. Turning as well, ruby eyes widened for a second seeing that the other had somehow managed to disappear on him.

-

Walking in cautious steps with his back alongside the wall, he kept attentive eyes open in case someone discovered him creeping about. He silently cursed that he hadn't paid more attention to the direction he had ran in for now it seemed as if though he actually ran further away from the exit. But all that he was thinking of then was about not wasting his chance to make an escape.

Turning at a corner, he barely had time to register what had happened as his form collided with that of another, sending him and the other to the floor on their bottoms roughly. He looked upwards to the figure he had just had an unpleasant collision with and widened his eyes to see the distinct armor that Theban guards wore.

The other had worn a cloak as well, only the Theban man's was the only one that fell over to reveal a fairly young man with jet black hair and crimson ruby colored eyes. Thinking only that the other was there to ultimately capture "those that participated in the uprising", the cloaked redhead ignored the throbbing pain from the impact and hurriedly broke off into a run.

Having gripped his forehead from the collision, Hiei noted the person on the ground had quickly gotten up to flee. Seeing only the back of the cloaked figure, he instantly collected himself and grit his teeth to run after the "enemy spy".

Huffing through his mouth, the redhead darted forwards in attempt to shake off the Theban warrior while cursing his bad luck. But the other was surprisingly fast on his feet and the redhead found himself running in the direction of a private stable as the blood coursed through his body. Gasps of breath escaped his parted lips as his hand reached for the stable door, tossing it aside as he raced in.

Hiei smirked and drew his sword also rushing in after the cloaked mystery figure. The redhead had expected for there to be another door at the end of the stable but was shocked to see only a wall. He turned around in time to see the glint of metal swing in his direction and he instinctively ducked, barely evading the near deathly attack.

He exhaled a shuddered breath, surprised that the other was trying to kill him and not capture him. The madness of the brawling could not have made the Theban warrior mad with the urge to kill, could it? As the other rose his sword again, the redhead decided not to test the possibility and kicked up on his feet again to evade the second attack.

The camels strapped to their posts began to restlessly move and groan about due to the fight now taking place inside the stable. Green eyes caught sight of a dagger fastened to one of the camels and drew it in hopes of defending himself. Just in time to another strong swing of a sword, his dagger collided with the impact, the feeling sending a numbing sensation to his wrist. He winced as the impressive strength of the Theban warrior almost sent him flying back.

He gripped the handle tightly and pushed back with his own strength and managed to force the other back. Hiei, on the other hand, widened his eyes a bit surprised at the strength exerted in the other's counter. Not many could redeem themselves after a clean impact from his blade as well as the cloaked figure had.

Feeling his excitement rise to this, the general began to attack more fiercely with eagerness behind his attacks. The redhead quickly noted the change in pace and was pushed to the defensive as he barely managed to block each swing of the longsword. However, each clash sent his wrist and hand more numb. He tried to parry the others attacks but the black haired warrior struck with a fierce tenacity and all the redhead could find himself doing was blocking.

Losing his footing for a second, the redhead found himself forced against the wall due to the impact of the blade's attack. He bit back a hiss at the now throbbing feeling running along his back. With no time to remove himself from that position, the general swung with enough force to knock the dagger out of his hands.

His eyes followed as the dagger fell a distance away to the ground. His gaze turned back to watch another swing of a sword and he reacted fast enough to duck and throw himself off to the side where the dagger lay. He rolled and quickly grabbed the dagger again, lifting it up in time to block another oncoming attack.

The general raised his brow, impressed the other had managed to recover the weapon in good time. But this only made him more eager to defeat the enemy before him so he quickened his pace. Tossing aside that he was fighting because he was after an enemy spy or because it was his duty as a general, he found himself simply fighting because it felt good. It really had been such a long time since someone could hold their own against him like the way the mystery man was doing.

Emerald green eyes watched the other's contort in amusement and the redhead found himself perplexed, not knowing what had brought on that sort of reaction from the other. Feeling the other's movements speed up again, the redhead began to feel a sense of unease. If the Theban warrior kept up with these fast paced attacks, the redhead felt that he would not be able to last much longer with him losing the feeling in his hands.

Just then, the door to the stable opened and the sound of the creaking door had caught both of their attentions. Their eyes whipped to see another figure cloaked stand bewildered by the sight of them fighting.

Ruby red eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the figure astonished at the door and the figure he had been fighting up to that point. Seeing that the one at the door was the one carrying rolled up paper documents, the general realized he had been chasing the wrong enemy and apparently battling them.

Unaware of the reason the Theban warrior had ceased his attacks, the redhead wasted no time in seizing the moment to make his escape. With a clean swoop of the dagger, he managed to parry the sword out of the warrior's hands before he shoved the body aside and ran for the door also pushing the other cloaked figure out of his way.

Crimson eyes widened at feeling his sword be tossed away from his grasp and he watched as the opponent he had been fighting made his escape. Urgency rushed to his head as he raised his voice, "Hey, you!" he called out but the mystery fighter had already ran out the door.

Realizing what had been happening, the cloaked spy also tried to break into a run but by that point, the general had already recovered his blade and held it to the ball of the spy's throat. "Don't even think about it" Hiei threatened in an angry tone. The spy gulped at being caught but Hiei could care less at that moment about having caught the spy. His mind still raced back to images of the person he had been fighting and he couldn't help but wonder who it was that had managed to make him feel so . . . . .alive.

-

Huffing in quick breaths not even making sure if he was being pursued or not, he ran from turn to turn in an effort to escape further away. Whoever that was, he now understood that he had been mistaken for the person that had shown up at the door. It had now made sense as to why the other was trying to kill him instead of capture him. It also came at the best of timings, or otherwise the redhead feared he would have lost that battle. He was ill suited to fighting with a dagger.

Although it delayed him greatly, all he could think of now was escaping the estate so that he could roam the streets of Thebes. But just as he thought this, a hand from out of the blue placed a firm grip on his arm. Losing his balance, he was hauled to the side as another hand clasped his over his mouth to keep him from shouting.

Squirming, his hood fell and he could see that it was one of the slave driver's that had caught him. With his hands numb from the earlier fight, he struggled to futilely break free from the other's hold.

"Didn't think you could get away, did you?" the hoarse voice rang in his ear and he glared at the slave driver. Soon after, the running sounds of footsteps neared to reveal another slave driver worn out approaching them.

The one holding him spoke out, "Did you get all of them?"

"Not all, some managed to escape." The other informed.

"Yeah, well this one almost did, but let's take him back"

The redhead felt his other arm being tugged at by the other slave driver as they pulled him along. He squinted his eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed and gritting his teeth in utter anger. He had been so close! So close to getting away and it was all ruined because of that Theban warrior!

-

[Liked that? Please any commentary, suggestions, or critiques in the review section.] 


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